Understanding Markets – For Lawyers
The course explores the nature of the instruments themselves, how trades are dealt and the workings of the markets, ensuring that attendees can ask the right questions of their clients when working on the terms of transactions.
Given from a lawyer’s perspective, it covers:
- the uses of transactions,
- the institutions and other participants in the markets, and
- the jargon used in the markets,
- as well as examining the legal concepts which apply through the trade workflow.
Worked examples are provided for futures, repo and swap transactions, and the key terms in the related agreements are illustrated.
One of the main aims throughout the day is to instil familiarity with basic concepts: longs/shorts, bid/offer, compounding and discounting etc.. Fluency with the issues ensures that attendees will ask the right questions when documenting a trade or the relationship.
Course Agenda
| Session | Topics covered include |
|---|---|
| Markets | Exchanges, OTC, uses of markets, users of markets |
| Legal Issues | Non-performance, insolvency, netting, collateral, EMIR, Brexit |
| Bonds and rates | Bonds, coupons, valuation, LIBOR, government bonds, eurobonds |
| SFTs | Repo, GMRA, Stock loan, GMSLA |
| Futures | Forwards, Long/short, futures, hedging, interest rate futures, bond futures |
| Swaps | IRS, cross-currency, ISDA, CSA, VM & IM CSAs |
| Clearing | CCPs, CCP’s requirements, CM/CCP relationship, Client/CM relationship, cleared swaps |
Perceptual Learning Module
The presentations are supplemented by a series of electronic flashcard tests, given before, during and after the day (one week later, a month later and three months later). This Spaced Learning technique has been proven to endure the long-term retention of information, and will ensure that the concepts are always at hand.